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SCARSDALE, N.Y. - The Scarsdale Board of Trustees has voted to continue the village tradition of collecting residents’ curbside grass clippings.

For weeks, the trustees and locals have been debating the merits of discontinuing curbside grass clipping pick-up in an effort to save money and encourage grasscycling - also known as mulch mowing or grass mulching.

Grasscycling is “the process of leaving grass clippings on lawns instead of bagging and removing them separately." According to Deputy Village Manager Robert Cole, who initially announced that this measure was being considered, “the organic lawn material quickly decomposes, improving soil structure and providing fertilizer and moisture for turf.”

Citing the environmental benefits of grasscycling, Trustee William Stern argued that residents worried about children “tracking grass into the house” were misguided. He also noted that if collection was discontinued, those DPW workers would be free to work on other projects and infrastructure improvements.

“Some of the negative comments from residents were about ‘I’m against it because I pay taxes and don’t want a reduction in (services),’ which has nothing to do with the value of grass recycling,” he said at the latest meeting. “Grass recycling is beneficial, it’s a known fact. If the grass is mowed properly the clippings are small and it goes into the earth very quickly.”

Despite some positive traction, the Trustees ultimately were forced to table the discussion following three “no” votes, which left the Board in a deadlock with Trustee Marc Samwick absent from the meeting. The resolution may be put to vote at a future board meeting.